Sun Dog Days

"Old Cowboys never die. They just ride off into the sunset." That adage could be the theme of this funny, yet thoughtful book about dreams and destinies and how sometimes they aren't the same thing. Buck, who used to be a cowboy, has settled down with a wife and kids and a job in the city. He thinks he's happy. In fact, he says he is happy with this incredible woman to wake up to every morning and someone to call him "Pop." Then his old friend, Smokey, shows up and asks him to go on one last run at the wild horses. It's taken Buck twenty years and more than one attempt at domesticity to try to get it right, so he is not eager to risk losing Jan and the kids for some adventure, but Smokey ups the ante. He's been diagnosed with cancer and really wants to do this one last thing before he dies. What can a friend say to that? So the two friends go to the desolate desert country of the Sierra Nevada's Coso Range in California where they first met as young cowboys. They borrow roping horses from another friend and go out to find the mustangs. While the story centers on this last adventure, it is as much about relationships and choices and finding balance between dreams and reality. Randles is the author of six books, including Ol Max Evans: The First Thousand Years, and a columnist for New Mexico Magazine. He incorporates much of the humor of his syndicated column Home Country into this novel, along with some narrative that borders on poetry. "But people haven't been there; haven't seen the frosty breath of wild horses rise like fog on a sagebrush flat on the desert mountain ranges." And any reader who has ever sat a horse will relate to: "People haven't sat there, holding a big roping horse quiet; both of you with muscles clenched as you reach for that rope and build a loop - just the right sized loop - praying the horses won't see the movement or sense your position behind the hill." While the humor is a bit too childish in a couple of places, and there are a few tired phrases that are too predictable, the rest of the narrative is strong and well-crafted. In places it is so unique, it will leave lasting impressions. In describing the sounds of the desert, Randles compares it to music, "Debussy in the desert. Ravel in the ravines. It was a haunting song born of the earth and the mountain and the wild things..." Treasures like that describe the deep connection of man to nature so well that the reader is tempted to ride into the desert with these two old cowboys.

Once a cowboy, Buck's now a magazine editor living in Los Angeles. He's married to Jan, a woman with two children and settled into the life of a grownup, though he remembers his carefree cowboy youth with pleasure, especially early in the morning when he's waking up. At that point, he dreams he's on a horse thundering over the range. In fact Slim Randles' SUN DOG DAYS opens with Buck's dream. Each time he wakes up, Buck shrugs off the vision and heads for the office, where he thinks he's happy. Then things go haywire. A freelancer misses a deadline and Buck must must write the article to fill the space, though he knows little about the subject he needs to cover. If it weren't for Jan and the kids, he'd "take this job and shove it," he decides. Suddenly, the phone rings. When he answers, his old partner, Smokey's voice invites him to go for a beer. Twenty-four hours and many beers later, Buck finds himself fired, tossed out of the house by his wife, and off to illegally round up some horses with Smokey. The choice leads to Buck making some critical decisions about the life he wants to lead. In SUN DOG DAYS, Slim Randles paints a vivid picture of the range, and the processes by which cowboys do their jobs. He also offrers a good look at the psyches of these tough men. But Randles also does something more. SUN DOG DAYS is the story of a man going through a mid-life crisis and coming to terms with who he is. In the process, the man learns something important about making and accepting choices and their consequences. This universal theme makes SUN DOG DAYS accessible to everybody, not just cowboys. In fact for the non-cowboy, SUN DOG DAYS tells its story in a refreshing way. For cowboys or cowboy wannabes, it catches the spirit of why they want to be cowboys. With warmth and humor Slim Randles presents fleshed out characters that are very human. His style is simple and direct, but never simplistic. SUN DOG DAYS is both a fun and gently thought provoking read.

A true masterpiece by a true cowboy! Ever since I met slim, i've been impressed by his work. This piece is prehaps his best yet! Worth reading twice!

Sun Dog Days might appear as just a story about two over-the-hill cowboys, but it's much more than that. It's everyone's story. It's about what we fear as we crest the mountain that separates us from our youth. It doesn't matter whether we wrangle mustangs, wear a fireman's turnout, or climb a corporate ladder, there's still a part of us that wants one more feel of the reins of that thing that satisfied us most when we were in our prime. Sun Dog Days combines the thrill and the rhythm of one last great ride with the pathos of two ol' pards watching the sun set on what once was and will never be again. Buck and Smokey did what most of us only dream of doing, and in writing the story, Slim Randles' pen and easy-flowing dialogue proves there are still a few who can ride the crest for a long time. This may well be his best work.

One of the most beautifully written books of our time. The first chapter will have you riveted to your chair with your eyes misting up. After the first three lines, I could see and hearthe horses; I could feel the melancoly mood. I could see Buck's eyes with a distant, almost vacant stare fixed upon his face. I was blown away. Several times during the book I had to stop and digest what I had just read. When I was finished, my eyes were stinging with tears and I felt like the old west was really still alive--at least in the eyes of real cowboys. I am still in awe of the beauty of this story. I can't recommend it highly enough. If there were 10 stars, I would rate it 10. CONGRATULATIONS TO SLIM RANDLES. I sure hope he keeps on telling his stories.